


I Could Be (A Killer)

by seraphina_snape



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Coming Out, M/M, Spoilers, set post-3x16
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-01
Updated: 2014-02-01
Packaged: 2018-01-10 20:27:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1164150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seraphina_snape/pseuds/seraphina_snape
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles shares some new insights with his pack and another confession comes up along the way. (set directly after 3x16)</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Could Be (A Killer)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [this prompt](http://mirrorkill.tumblr.com/post/75285962253/sterek-prompt-d) because mirrorkill is THE WORST. (Stop enabling me, okay?!) 
> 
> Warning: This story contains **SPOILERS** for Teen Wolf 3x16 - Illuminated and the previous episodes of 3B.
> 
> Edit April 24, 2015: This work now has a German translation! A big thank you to kandersfeld who translated the story. Click [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3811339) or check the "works inspired by" section at the end for a link.

"Look, all I'm saying is that the signs all point towards yours truly. I'm your killer!" Stiles said, raising his voice slightly to be heard over Allison and Isaac's whispering. "Hey! I'm talking here!" 

"Sorry," Allison said, shooting him a not-entirely-sincere smile. 

"Oh, come on, Stilinski." Isaac didn't even try to look apologetic. "This is _you_ we're talking about." 

"Exactly," Stiles said. "Is there anyone who's better Evil Mastermind material? I don't think so!" 

When his statement was met with amused smiles, Stiles glared and threw the key to the chemical storage room at the closest target. But even the key hitting Scott smack in the forehead and then bouncing off to land on the floor with a clattering sound wasn't enough to lift Stiles' mood. 

At least Derek wasn't smiling. Derek didn't think this was funny at all. In fact, Derek had put on his most serious eyebrow game since leaving town. Stiles felt somewhat nervous about being revealed as Beacon Hills' most recent bad guy. It had been Derek's idea to tell the pack, and depending on how they took the news… Well, all his hard work getting Derek to trust people - trust the pack - again could be shattered. And the bunch of assholes he called friends were giggling about it. All right, so Lydia wasn't giggling. But she was playing on her phone, utterly ignoring his impending breakdown. Not cool.

"Okay, that's it. I've had it with you all," Stiles said, bending down to pick up the key. "This key," he said, waving the key in Scott's face, "this key right here is the first piece of evidence. Lydia and I figured out that Barrow was hiding in the school, masking his scent from all of your wolfy noses. Mysteriously, I happen to have the key to the chemical storage room in my possession. I was the one who connected the dots. Now, usually I'd put that down to my excellent deductive skills and general crime solving abilities, but fact is that I'm missing time. I hallucinate. I can't always tell if I'm awake or not. If I can't trust my brain, then how do I know I didn't figure it out because I _already knew it_?"

Scott and Isaac exchanged a look, twin expressions of vague distress on their faces. Lydia had stopped tapping on her phone, one elegant eyebrow raised in his direction. 

"When you say you're hallucinating…?" 

"I mean I _fucking hallucinate_ ," Stiles yelled. "I see things that aren't there," he continued, a little calmer. "I dream that I'm awake and then I wake up and _think_ I'm awake, but then I wake up _again_ because I was still dreaming. I think I'm dreaming and it turns out I was awake. I see things move in the shadows. Then there are all the times I find myself in my room when - seconds earlier - I was at school, or at the gas station, or anywhere but my room." 

"I have hallucinations, too," Allison said quietly. "I see Kate," she added, shooting a quick glance at Derek's impassive face. "This darkness is affecting all of us."

"Yeah, fine," Stiles said. His hand clenched around the small key, the edges of it painfully digging into his palm. "But do you have a key to the place where an escaped killer has been hiding out? No, you don't! Did you write cryptic numbers on a blackboard for said killer to find? No? Well, guess what? I did! I went back to the school to test the key and not only does it fit perfectly. No. The writing on the blackboard? Perfectly matches mine. So either I have an evil twin out there who's pulling the strings on some kind of supernatural serial killer plot, or I _am_ the evil twin."

Nobody said anything.

Allison shifted in her seat, playing with the hem of her dress. 

"Isn't anyone going to say anything?!"

Isaac, soul of un-subtlety that he was, elbowed Scott. 

"Look, Stiles," Scott said. "You're not a psychopathic serial killer, okay?" 

"I could be," Stiles muttered, ignoring the way Isaac rolled his eyes. "No, seriously, Scott. How do you know I'm not? All the evidence points at me. I'm pretty much holding the smoking gun here," he said, holding up the key. 

"Because I know you, Stiles. You're not a killer. Even if someone's messing with your head." 

"But that's exactly it! Someone's messing with my head. I can't trust my own brain. My memories, my thoughts - I don't even trust myself but you're all totally fine with me?" 

"You can't be a killer," Scott said. His eyes widened a little, like he'd figured it all out, and he smiled. "You can't be a killer because you're not dating Derek!" 

Lydia snorted delicately. So delicately that Stiles hardly heard it over Isaac and Scott's laughter. Even Allison's giggle was lost under their loud belly-laughs.

Stiles shot Derek a questioning look. Derek only shrugged in response, his jaw tense and his eyebrows drawn in a permanent frown. 

Isaac was still holding his stomach, but Scott's laughter died away when Stiles didn't join in. 

"Stiles, you're not laughing."

"Neither is Derek," Stiles said. 

"Yeah, but that's Derek. I'm pretty sure he traded his ability to laugh in for extra thick eyebrows," Scott said. "Why aren't you laughing?" 

Stiles shot Derek a quick glance to test the waters. Derek tilted his head to the side, lips pursed. All right. Fine. He'd do the talking. Not like he wasn't used to it. 

"Well, Scott," Stiles said, rubbing the back of his head. "Um, so there's something I wanted to tell you for a while now… about Derek. And me." 

Scott turned to Lydia. "Is this real? Am _I_ hallucinating now?" 

"Oh, please, I called that one ages ago," Lydia said. "Don't tell me you didn't know Stiles had the hots for Derek."

"Of course I knew. But nobody ever said anything about _Derek_ having the hots for _Stiles_!" Scott turned back to Stiles, shaking his head. "You're joking," he said firmly. "You were kissing that girl earlier." 

"No, Caitlin was kissing me," Stiles said. He turned to Derek, rolled his eyes at Derek's raised eyebrows, and repeated: "Caitlin kissed me. She was drunk. I brought her a bottle of water and told her to take it easy." He turned back to Scott. "And I thought we'd already established that I'm not laughing." 

"This isn't funny, Stiles!" 

"That's what I've been saying!" Stiles hissed. "Nice of you to catch up." 

"If we could get back to the point now," Derek said. He uncrossed his arms and stepped forward until he was standing next to Stiles. "There's a killer on the loose and he or someone else is using Stiles for their nefarious purposes." 

"Yes, please," Stiles said. He bumped his shoulder into Derek's. "And I can't believe you just said 'nefarious purposes' with a straight face, dude." 

"Don't call me dude," Derek said, annoyance coloring his voice. But despite his rough words, Stiles felt Derek's hand on the small of his back, warm and steady and - thankfully - very much real. He leaned into the touch and then sent Scott a challenging look. 

"Okay, let's compare notes. See what else we can find out and try to find a way to stop Barrow or whoever else is trying to get into your head," Scott said. He narrowed his eyes at Stiles, then glanced at Derek. "But don't think this is over. You and I are going to have a talk about this later." 

"I can't wait," Derek said, rolling his eyes. 

Stiles grinned. He suspected it was sheer stubbornness that kept Scott from sticking his tongue out in retaliation. 

Stiles' grin turned into a fond smile. Maybe he _was_ this month's evil mastermind. Maybe he'd unknowingly pulled on the strings of Barrow's sanity and directed him to target Kira with his evil electrocutions. Maybe he was just another pawn in some bad guys chess game of evil. But as long as he had the pack - and especially Derek - in his corner, he could get through it. Hopefully with his sanity intact. 

"Okay, first order of business: I should get my brain checked," Stiles said. "Scott, is your mom working today?"

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilery end note: Technically this probably counts as an AU because in the episode, Stiles did start a kiss with Caitlin, but let's just pretend he didn't. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Vielleicht bin ich (ein Killer)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3811339) by [kandersfeld](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kandersfeld/pseuds/kandersfeld)




End file.
